DECEM BER, 1971 P H Y S I O T H E R A P Y Page 15 U N IV E R SIT Y O F T H E O R A N G E F R E E ST A TE P H Y S IO T H E R A P Y S T U D E N T S Firstly a belated w elcom e to Mrs. Joan Withers, w h o joined the staff this year, and our thanks for all her help to us w ith our clinical work. The 17th September this year, the occasion o f our farewell to the final years, proved to be a m emorable evening. It to o k the form o f a cheese and wine dance which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. A big thank you to the first years for their organisation o f the evening. Our congratulations to A rlene Kruger, T o n i Smit and Jane Vorster on their selection to play for the Varsity 1st Team H ock ey at the D u rb an Intervarsity Tournam ent. Also to A rlene and T oni o n being ch osen for the Free State B Team. Toni Smit has to be congratulated on being awarded the trophy for m ost im proved hockey player in U .O .F .S . Congratulations also to M arinda Lum ley o n her successful representation o f the Free State at Badm inton. As w e near the end o f the year and exam inations loom in sight w e would lik e to take this opportunity to wish all students, especially F inalists, the very best o f luck. ABSTRACTS S E C O N D A N D T H IR D Q U A R T E R S 1971 Brain, 94, 2 , 1971: B e l m o n t , I., K a r p , E., and B ir c h , H . G . : H em ispheric Inco-ordination in Hem iplegia. Unilateral and bilateral m ovem ents were analysed in a group o f 18 left-sided hem iplegic patients. A ll patients selected had sufficient residual voluntary m ovem ent in the affected fo o t to enable them to carry out the tests, and no patient had any intellectual, language or perceptual prob­ lems, although disturbances o f sensation o n the affected side were com m on ly found. T he sam e tests were carried out in a control group o f 21. A ll but tw o o f the hem iplegic group showed inco-ordination in bilateral activities. This inco-ordination m anifested itse lf in tw o distinct ways, half the patients dem onstrating an asynchronous performance with the unaffected side m oving consistently faster than the affected side, and the rem aining patients alternating in speed between the affected and unaffected sides with a strong tendency for either fo o t to stop com pletely w hen the other fo o t was m oving. T he patients seemed unaware o f this inco-ordination. In six o f the eight patients with residual finger m ovem ents, bilateral hand activities were similarly affected. The authors put forward several hypotheses to account for this disco-ordination o f bilateral activities after unilateral cerebral damage. Acta Neurol. Scandinav. 47, 4, 426-438, 1971: H o r n a b r o o k , R . W .: The Prevalence o f M ultiple Sclero­ sis in N ew Zealand: Summary: This article m ay be o f interest to Sou th Africans in that it studies the incidence o f m ultiple sclerosis in relation to latitude. In 1967, D ean studied the incidence o f multiple sclerosis in Sou th Africa and concluded that it was alm ost unknown am ongst the Bantu and rare in Sou th African- born Europeans, but more com m on in immigrants from north and central Europe. In Europe the high risk zones are north o f 60° latitude and in Am erica north o f 40° latitude. This study o f the incidence in W ellington, N ew Zealand (a city w hich cou ld be com pared t o C ape T ow n in climate and culture) seems to establish a similar trend in the southern hemisphere. W ellington lies just sou th o f 41° latitude, at the southern extremity o f the N orth Island, and shows a particularly high incidence o f m ultiple sclerosis. Cape T ow n lies at a latitude o f approxim ately 35° latitude, corresponding with the northern tip o f N e w Z ealand, and in N e w Zealand the incidence o f m ultiple sclerosis has been foun d to dim inish as on e proceeds northwards. Am. J . Physiol., 221, 2, August, 1971: B r o o k s , G. A ., H it t e l m a n , K . J., F a u l k n e r , J. A ., and B e y e r , R . E . : T issu e temperatures and w hole-anim al oxygen consu m ption after exercise: Sum mary: In a study o f rats after exhaustive treadmill exercise the authors found, that m uscle temperature in the thigh m uscles increased by 8,1°C. After exercise the tem ­ perature decreased exponentially but did not reach control values after o n e hour. D u ring this period o f increased temperature the oxygen consu m ption w as significantly raised and, although it decreased slightly over the first 20 minutes, it thereafter a lso remained at a plateau well above the resting level for the w h ole o f the period o f increased muscle temperature. Since the authors felt that this period was considerably longer than that required for recovery from anaerobic m etabolism , they query the classical defini­ tion o f oxygen debt. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. P sychiat., 34, 3, June, 1971: B u r k e , D ., G il l ie s , J. D ., and L a n c e , J. W . : H am strings stretch reflex in hum an spasticity. Sum m ary: This is a similar study to on e previously undertaken by the sam e authors. In the first study the authors investigated the results o f stretching the spastic quadriceps m uscle. T hey fou n d that the stretch reflex decreased as the m uscle was stretched, producing the so- called “clasp-knife” ph enom enon, and explained this as being due to autogenic inhibition resulting from secondary stretch. In this more recent study the results o f stretching the spastic hamstrings muscles were investigated. In all patients the stretch reflex was foun d to increase in direct proportion to the velocity o f stretch. T he stretch reflex a lso only becam e apparent in the last third o f the stretching m ovem ent (extension o f the knee in prone) and was m axim al at full extension. They ascribe this absence o f the clasp-knife ph enom enon in the spastic hamstrings to the differential effects o f secondary stretch on flexors and extensors, activa­ tion o f the flexor secondary endings producing autogenic facilitation in place o f inhibition. T hey describe the effects o f primary and secondary endings in extensor m uscles as being antagonistic, whilst in flexor m uscles they are syner­ gistic. J . Physiol., 217, 3, September, 1971 (709-721): C a v a g n a , G . A ., K o m a r e k , L ., and M a z z o l e n i, S.: T he M echanics o f sprint running. Sum m ary: T he authors foun d that during sprinting the average pow er developed by the m uscles during pu sh-off increased w ith the velocity o f running, and reached 3-4 h.p. at the m axim um speed achieved (25-34 k.p.h.). A t this high speed, how ever, part o f the power output appeared to be due to elastic release (after stretch o f the contracted muscles) and not only to the contractile com ponent o f the muscle. Neurol., 21, 8, August, 1971: S a c h d e r , K . K ., T a o r i, G . M ., and P e r e ir a , S. M .: N eurom uscular status in protein-calorie malnutrition. Sum m ary: Since Sou th Africa has a high incidence o f kw ashiorkor am ongst the N on-E uropean pop ulation, this article m ay also be o f interest. Thirty children w ith kw ashior­ kor were studied in southern India. N eurom uscular changes were invariably fou n d and included m uscle wasting, h yp o­ tonia, dim inished reflexes, decreased peripheral nerve con ­ du ction and an abnorm al E .M .G . T h e pelvic and shoulder- girdle m uscles were m ost m arkedly affected, 17 children being unable to walk and four sh ow ing a w addling, m yo- pathic-type gait. M any utilized G owers' m anoeuvre in order to stand up. M ental changes (apathy or irritability) were a lso com m on. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )